Posted in: Adult Swim, Max, Opinion, Rick and Morty, TV, TV | Tagged: Adult Swim, Evil Morty, rick and morty, rick prime

Rick and Morty Theory: Rick Prime Still Alive? Jerry Saves The Day?

New Rick and Morty Theory: Rick Prime is still alive & Evil Morty knows it - and the key to Rick's survival could end up being... Jerry?

Regarding Adult Swim's Rick and Morty, we haven't exactly been lacking in theories – theories that have ranged wildly from spot-on to "WTF?" – and that was before the Emmy Award-winning animated series decided to dial up the canon to a "Spinal Tap"-loving 11 and break off the dial. Thanks to showrunner Scott Marder and the show's brilliant writing team, we've had so much backstory and so many answers that we're still pretty sure that we missed something. Just to be clear, though? That's not a complaint in any way, shape, or form – in fact, just the opposite. We've been loving it because after so many seasons of grasping at the smallest clues to help give us a better understanding of "The Bigger Picture," we're getting some serious intel that only stokes our dumpster fires of random speculation. So with that in mind – and with only hours to go before S07E07: "Wet Kuat Amortican Summer" hits our screens – we have a quick theory to offer regarding Rick Prime… and how he might not be quite as dead as we thought.

We all know that in S07E05: "Unmortricken" (directed by Jacob Hair and written by Albro Lundy & James Siciliano), Rick finally has his "Holmes/Moriarty" face-off with Rick Prime. Thanks to the combined efforts of Rick, Morty, and Evil Morty, Rick was finally able to get Rick Prime where he wanted him. And it was a pretty brutal, bloody & definitive ending – with Rick literally beating Rick Prime to death before rejoining Morty & Evil Morty. From there, Evil Morty departs – with an ultimate weapon that should pretty much guarantee him the high level of "leave me the f**k alone" that he's been searching for. That leaves Rick without his "Moby Dick" – finally able to forge his own future, one not defined by a vendetta. Or does he?

Here's the thing. My love of television has taught me over the years that if you don't see a body, keep a fresh bit of skepticism in the back of your mind. In this case, there was an edit from when Rick is beating Rick Prime to when a very bloody Rick rejoins Morty & Evil Morty – denoting that some time has transpired. What if, in his last seconds of life, Rick Prime was able to save a piece of himself in Rick's mind? It could've had something to do with what Evil Morty did to Rick Prime before Rick's beating began or what might have been in the room that Rick Prime was kept in. Not that Rick Prime is in control – at least, not yet. But it would be fascinating to see Rick and Rick Prime fighting for control of Rick's mind – and to see how the family, Dr. Wong, and others would react to him.

To dump more fuel on the fire, we can back our theory up with an exchange that Evil Morty and Rick have before Evil Morty takes a one-way portal trip away from our dimension-hopping duo. During that moment, Evil Morty admits that Rick vibes differently than the other Ricks that he's encountered. Our first read on the line is that Evil Morty sees Rick as someone who's working at changing – unlike those other Ricks – and wants it noted. But putting our theory into the mix, what if Evil Morty senses something is off about Rick but doesn't have an interest in pursuing it? Evil Morty notes at the end of the scene that Rick could be of some use to him in the future – but could he be referencing that Rick having Rick Prime in his mind could be of use to Evil Morty with whatever the next stage of his plan ends up being?

Maybe that's why Rick left Memory Rick in Jerry's mind in S07E02: "The Jerrick Trap" (directed by Kyounghee Lim and written by Lundy & Siciliano). We all know that Rick has backups ready to go to cover anything & everything – could Memory Rick being kept outside of Rick's mind end up being Rick's ultimate weapon to keep control of his own brain? Could Jerry actually end up saving Rick's mind – and his life?

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